We have found a great story that we would like to share with you all for your Wednesday afternoon, and it has to do with auto insurance and a little bit of history. Now I don’t know about you, but I’m a big history guy, so anytime we find these great historical stories, I can’t help but sharing it with you all!
So on with the story. We have found that the first auto insurance policy was purchased in Buffalo New York over 115 years ago. Now you might be thinking, 1898, were there even cars back then. Well, automobiles were indeed on the road right at the turn of the century, but they were few and far between. According to the history of Traveler’s Insurance Co., Dr. Truman Martin purchased the first ever auto insurance policy.
The coverage that Martin purchased was for $5,000 in liability coverage, but what’s a little comical is that Dr. Martin was probably worried about crashing into one of the country’s 18 million horses, not another car (which were about 4,000 in total). To compare to today’s numbers, there are about 237 million vehicles on the roads now, and only about 9 million horses.
And in terms of dollars, Martin’s 1898 policy cost him a whopping $12.25. Now in today’s currency with inflation, that amounts to $316.25. Still not bad, considering that the average CT auto insurance policy costs over $800 per year. Look’s like Dr. Martin made out like a bandit!
